The Batik Guild > Gallery > Heather Gatt

Heather Gatt

I employ techniques of wax resist as a fine art medium. My aim is to practice to the highest traditional and international standards, whilst seeking to slowly erode batik’s existing boundaries. Although I’ve been making batiks for most of my life, the intriguing process of wax-resist continues to fascinate me. There is always more to explore. Using the finest primissima cotton from Java and a palette of the most lightfast fibre-reactive dyes, I construct my batik paintings in many layers, working light to dark.

Lakeside Tree

Distant Surf

Evening Light on Water

Batik is an expressive medium. Sometimes I stand up as I work, applying molten wax in broad sweeps with a wide fan brush. Other times I may discover profound relaxation in sitting close and carefully placing hundreds of tiny wax dots with a canting (wax pen) in a process that is a meditation.

The influence of light on water and land is my inspiration - the way that light can transform and dramatise. I use the batik process in order to explore my curiosity concerning light/liquid/solid and their interaction. I envisage resist as a microcosm of the fragile physical make-up of our planet and I’m fascinated by possibilities arising from the diverse properties of wax, dyes and fabric.